Against Me! / The Front / Juice Falcon: live in Casperlive in Casper (2011)live show

Reviewer Rating: 5

Contributed by: punk_skpunk_sk(others by this writer | submit your own)Published on August 19th 2011The punks, alt kids, and those with nothing else to do on a Tuesday night in central Wyoming came out to The Venue in Casper to see Against Me!. That's right, Against Me! played a show in Wyoming, something they hadn't done since 2005's Fat Tour, and from what I've heard their scheduled performance .

The punks, alt kids, and those with nothing else to do on a Tuesday night in central Wyoming came out to The Venue in Casper to see Against Me!. That's right, Against Me! played a show in Wyoming, something they hadn't done since 2005's Fat Tour, and from what I've heard their scheduled performance in the "ghost town" got canceled.

I walked into The Venue a couple minutes late. Local opener Juice Falcon had already taken to the stage. I was glad to see so many people here this early as Wyoming in general doesn't receive this caliber of a band often. Juice Falcon has a real metal-sounding edge to their rock with plenty of sludgy bass riffs throughout their songs. I dug it but I was more interested in looking for my friend than keeping my eyes and ears peeled to the stage.
Set list:

Cheap Tutor

Exotic Location (P.S.)

#3

Duck Honk

Heater Baby

Shit Shove

Gift Shop

Cha Cha Cha

Next to take the stage was the Front, another Casper local band. Don't take them for just another garage band playing shows for fun. Just earlier this year they toured the east coast with friends the Queers. Lead by frontwoman Lauren Bezold, the Front rocked the joint as the crowd grew larger. I've only seen them play once before but I was completely blown away this time. I had listened to their record Snake Oil Salesman on my drive to Casper but it just wasn't the same. Seeing them play live mixed with the energy put off by Lauren jumping off the stage and just crowd surfing until their time was up escalated the performance to a different level for me.

Set list:

Fire Away

Trail

Death Dress

S.O.S.

Commando

All Hail

Push

Untitled [new song]

Be Yo' Gal-friend

Low Income Love

Take Me On

And for the moment everyone in this little-big town had been waiting for, the members of Against Me! took the stage. For me, it's been a couple of years since I've last seen them (Warren was still behind the drum kit), but for many in attendance that night, it was their first experience. Their set list played like a greatest hits, picking a number of singles and fan favorites from each release. They played in true Against Me! fashion: no stopping, no banter, just rocking from song to song, jumping from one album to the next.

Tom took center stage for the tour after White Crosses came out. They said something like he should be in the center since he was the singer. Also, Andrew missed part of the tour because he had a kid, and they said it'd be weird for his replacement to be at the center.

Little Weinberg must've injected some sort of fun serum into the rest of the band when he joined. I saw them in February and it was absolutely amazing. Well-rounded setlist and the band seemed completely thrilled to be playing each song to such a loving crowd. This setlist looks absolutely amazing. I can't wait for more Against Me!

That set is phenomenal. 7 songs from Cowboy, 4 from RAR, 4 from SFAFC, 4 from New Wave, 5 from White Crosses and two tracks from EPs? What more can you ask for? It's safe to say, based on setlists and all the videos/reviews of shows I've seen, that AM! is a totally different band in 2011 than they were in 2010.

I watched all the videos of Against Me! Now granted, I've never been to one of their shows (I really want to though), but I never knew that We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules) brings such a high energy level to the show.